CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 2002 murder conviction of Ru-El Sailor could be vacated this Wednesday, following a years-long investigation by the prosecutor's office that called his guilt into question.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley's office and Sailor's defense attorney, Kimberly Corral, are expected to file a joint motion and ask a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge to vacate his conviction after presenting the results of the investigation at the hearing on Wednesday.

In exchange, Sailor has agreed to plead guilty to perjury and obstruction of justice charges for lying on the stand during his trial and receive a 10-year sentence. The sentence is more than the maximum penalty for those charges under today's sentencing guidelines.

The deal means Sailor, who has spent the last 15 years in prison as part of a life sentence, could walk out of the hearing a free man.

No physical evidence was ever found to tie Sailor to the murder of Omar Clark, who was shot during a confrontation between Cordell Hubbard, his sister Nichole Hubbard, and a friend over a $20 marijuana cigarette laced with PCP.

Sailor was with Cordell Hubbard earlier in the night but left to hang out with another group of friends. Sailor took the stand and testified that he was with Hubbard the entire night and that neither man was involved in the shooting.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Blaise Thomas was the lead prosecutor of the case.

A jury eventually convicted the trio. Judge Nancy McDonnell sentenced Sailor to life in prison with his first chance at parole after 23 years.

Cordell Hubbard declared during his sentencing hearing that Sailor was innocent, and told the judge who oversaw the case, Judge Nancy McDonnell, that his accomplice was "Will" and gave a phone number.

Witnesses who initially identified Sailor as the gunman have since recanted their testimony and others who never testified have come forward to cast further doubt that Sailor was the gunman.

Cordell Hubbard took a lie-detector test where he maintained the Sailor was not the shooter. A relative of Clark's filed an affidavit saying Cordell Hubbard's friend, Will Sizemore, called him after the shooting and confessed to being at the scene of the shooting, and not Sailor.

But none of that was enough to get an appellate court to grant Sailor a new trial.

In 2013, then-Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty established the Conviction Integrity Unit to review cases of those who maintain their innocence and opened it up for anyone to apply.

Sailor applied to the unit on two separate occasions, including as recently as 2016. McGinty's office declined to review the case both times.

O'Malley pledged during his 2016 primary challenge of McGinty that he would examine Sailor's case if he were elected.

Nearly two years later, Sailor stands to return home to his family.

Sailor's case highlights how defendants' quests to prove their innocence, which already an arduous process, are compounded even more when there is no physical evidence to run for DNA evidence that may lead to other suspects.

In cases that rest on witness credibility, appellate courts are hesitant to overturn a jury's decision, Corral said.

"Without scientific proof, like DNA, it is nearly impossible to prevail through the traditional criminal procedure," she said. "That is why it is so essential for programs like Cuyahoga County's Conviction Integrity Unit to give meaningful consideration to cases that rely solely on witness identification. We are fortunate that Prosecutor O'Malley's office has been so thorough and diligent in pursuing a just resolution."

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